Sarah Ferguson: She loses patronage in children’s hospice

The British children’s hospice “Julia’s House” dropped Sarah Ferguson (65) as a patron. The reason is an email published over the weekend, in which the Duchess of York spoke to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019).

The organization said in a statement that it was “inappropriate” that the Duchess continued to hold the role. Thank you for the earlier support, but the connection to Epstein is not sustainable.

The trigger was a report. Accordingly, Ferguson wrote a private email to Jeffrey Epstein in April 2011, in which she described him as “steadfast, spacious and sublime friend”. She apologized “humbly” to have previously associated him with pedophilia in the media and explained that she was “tied to bed with fear”.

Just a few weeks earlier, she had publicly distanced herself from Epstein in an interview with the “Evening Standard”. At the time, the reason was the unveiling that she had accepted £ 15,000 from him as an assistance to debt. At the time, Ferguson publicly apologized and called the step a “gigantic mistake in judgment”.

A spokesman for the Duchess justified the news according to “Sky News” with the fact that Epstein had threatened her with a lawsuit. “Her first thoughts apply to his victims. As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations, she broke the contact and publicly condemned him,” emphasized the spokesman.

He also pointed out that Epstein had threatened with legal steps according to the public distancing of the Duchess. The message was written in this context to alleviate the threats.

Fergies ex-husband Prince Andrew (65) has been criticized for years because of his connections to Epstein. Because of his close friendship with Epstein, he had to settle all official tasks in 2019. He was also faced with allegations of abuse, which ended in an out -of -court settlement in 2022.

Jeffrey Epstein had already been convicted in 2008 for the initiation of sexual contacts with a minor in Florida, but only served 13 months in prison among generous conditions. Despite his criminal record, he continued to move in the environment of politics, business and nobility. In 2019 he was arrested again in New York – this time under the accusation that he has built up a far -reaching network for sexual abuse by young girls for years. A few weeks later he died in his prison cell, officially through suicide.